Playstation Network: Sony finally speaks about breach

A man plays Sony's PlayStation 3 game console as logo of Sony's PlayStation displayed at the Tokyo Game Show in Chiba, east of Tokyo September 24, 2009. Photo: REUTERS

Sony will finally speak to media tomorrow about a huge outage and security breach of its PlayStation Network, resulting in the loss of personal data of nearly 80 million users around the globe.

The Sunday event marks the first time an executive of the Japanese electronics giant will publicly address the case, marking some 20 days since the company first alleged it was being attacked.

Hirai, in line to succeed CEO Howard Stringer, will hold a news conference in Tokyo at 2:00 p.m. (1 a.m. EDT) on how the company is investigating the case, its data integrity and comments on when the service will be restored.

The company first pulled the plug on its PlayStation Network on April 19th, but waited a full 7 days to disclose this Tuesday that it was because of a security breach instead of a technical problem.

The delay would have given ample time for hackers to sell or maliciously exploit the data, security experts have contended, and now lawmakers in several countries are taking action.

The delay prompted anger among online users, although company said it was due to a forensic investigation.

It could lead to legal action around the globe and pose a challenge for Hirai, who Stringer has said is in pole position to succeed him.

In the United States, several members of Congress seized on the breach to push for tougher laws protecting personal information. A House of Representatives subcommittee was directed to investigate the hacking incident.

In Britain, a government watchdog launched an investigation of the incident.

It's estimated that name, address, country, email address, birthdate, PSN password and login and other details were stolen from approximately 77 million users globally.

Sony issued a fact-sheet on its official blog this week stating that while data was compromised, the credit card information was encrypted.